Windows XP Media Center Edition - reviewed

Recently, I decided to build myself a media center PC. I already own an early TiVo Series 2 machine (unfortunately it predates USB 2.0, so I'm stuck with USB 1.1 for my network adapter), and one of my goals was to be able to get video content off the TiVo with the TiVoToGo option. I also wanted to do some gaming, and I was hoping to have a reasonably flexible machine - I try and only keep one Intel-based client computer in the house at any one time.

So I solved the costliest part (the PC itself) by recycling a Dell Dimension 4600 that I'd originally purchased as a "guerilla" server for my business. It had since been replaced with a low-end Proliant, so it was surplus. The specs on the Dell were a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 (with Hyperthreading), 1 GB of PC3200 RAM (in 2 banks of 512 MB), a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, and a low-end nVidia card. The 4800 has support for either SATA or ATA-133 hard drives, with both controllers built-in. Mine had a 120 GB SATA drive as shipped. In order to make this a good media computer, I made some basic changes. First, I replaced the video card with an ATI Radeon 9600XT - not as slick as the 9800 series but about $200 cheaper. I replaced the hard drive with a 250GB ATA-133 Maxtor that I'd bought for $99 back at CompUSA when they had their Thanksgiving sale. And I added both a 4-port FireWire card (recycled from an older computer of mine) and a Sony dual-layer DVD-RW drive. Finally, it was time to pick a TV tuner. After some research I decided to start out by trying a Hauppauge WinPVR 500 card - the only inexpensive tuner I could find with both dual tuner capability and Windows XP MCE 2005 certification. Finally the project was ready to begin.

Except it wasn't. I ordered the card in early January - but it was backordered. I finally got it in late March, (!) and started building the box. I'd already run the MCE install back when I first ordered the hardware, so since I'd never bothered installing an Ethernet driver for the Dell or activating XP, I was forced to phone in my activation. Grumble.

Once that was done, installation of the card drivers went just fine. The radio worked immediately, and MCE immediately saw the card and allowed me to install it. There was one catch, though.

Windows XP MCE does not include the necessary MPEG-2 codec, and the version of the Hauppauge card for MCE doesn't include one, either. I found this out when I tried to actually display video, and was greeted by an error message. My initial research indicated that I'd need to buy one separately. I was bitter. Then I realized that the ATI Radeon had included a software DVD player - since that uses MPEG-2, I figured I could try installing it, even though it wasn't listed as a supported MCE-compatible codec.

Eureka! I had video. Sound was not an issue at all, so now I had a working dual-tuner (analog) MCE system. So to cap it off, I installed TiVo Desktop, and have been taking advantage of the huge hard drive on the PC to archive TiVo content, unclogging the logjam of programs I'd saved on it. My final major project with this is to prepare for DVD archiving of TiVo content. Thanks to TiVo's unnecessary DRM, I can only use the Sonic DVD recording studio software (at $50) for official DVD burning capability. This is even though I have the free Nero DVD authoring software that came with my Sony drive. I also have a fleet of Macs available for use (an iMac G4, a PowerBook, and an iMac G5), all of which include iDVD authoring software. And I have Final Cut Pro HD on the iMac G5 for editing my captures. So the project I'm working on now is to simplify the process of stripping off the DRM from the TiVo files, so I can transfer them to the Mac for editing and burning. I'm avoiding the Sonic software on moral grounds - since I'd already paid $50 to get the TiVo networking feature before they made it a free standard add-on, I'm just not willing to blow another $50.

The MCE-recorded material, ironically, has no encumberances attached, so this isn't an issue when I record with MCE.

Is this a perfect media machine? Not really. I still need to buy a remote control (available for about $30 from Newegg, I've just been too lazy), and display is confined to my 17" Dell DVI LCD that I picked up a few months ago. The system still sits in my home "nerd room" - as a full-function PC it's way too bulky to take downstairs and plug into our HD set. But as a hybrid "speedy PC" for gaming and media usage, it's pretty nice. The Dell is a solid base box, that's also reasonably quiet for typical use.

After a while with this, I think I have an idea of what my "dream machine" for home media would look like. First of all, it would probably be a Mac. Why? Simple. MacOS is solid, stable, and reliable, witout most of the security risks inherent to Windows. But more importantly, Apple hardware is typically cooler and quieter, with a lower power budget, than comparable Intel-based hardware (including most SFF systems - and Mini-ITX systems tend to have little horsepower). With hardware-based decoding, the combination of a Mac mini and a Firewire-based Elgato EyeTV (or maybe a Plextor ConvertX) can do virtually everything the MCE boxes can do, in a form factor well-suited for the TV stand. I'd give up the ability to use multiple tuners, but I'd save power and heat.

It's a tough call. I'm fairly happy with MCE overall (and a Windows PC is the only way I can use TiVoToGo), but this system will never migrate to the living room. Had I bought a brand-new MCE-optimized PC, it might fit that bill a little better, but from what I've seen of them so far the Windows PC and the living room are not a great match yet. The move to lower-power Pentium 4 chips that Intel is pushing may help with the next generation of MCE systems, but I don't think it's there today.